Apple's continued fight against Samsung for tech trademarks and patents
Apple has filed a motion in US district court seeking a ban on the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the USA. The motion comes after an appeals court ruled earlier that the iPad’s design patent was valid. However, it looks like the injunction won’t be granted very soon because Samsung and Apple are mandated by the court to enter into settlement negotiations. The court-mandated negotiations are slated for May 21 and 22. It is highly unlikely the injunction will be granted while the negotiations are still underway.
The motion was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California where Judge Lucy Koh presides. The district court is handling several cases involving the patent claims of Samsung and Apple over smart phones and tablets. Koh earlier ruled that Apple was not likely to prevail in its patent claim against Samsung’s Tab 10.1. Koh sided with contention advocated by Samsung that Apple’s design patent for the iPad would not be considered valid. Samsung argues that certain aspects of the design patent awarded to the iPad are too obvious to afforded patent protection.
Fortunately for Apple, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Apple’s favor regarding the validity of its design patent for the iPad. The appeals court said that Samsung had “failed to raise a substantial question as to the validity of the D’899 patent based on obviousness.” Apple then went on to push the motion because it noted that Koh agreed that Apple “would suffer harm from competition with the Galaxy Tab 10.1.”
If the court-required settlement negotiations break down, Koh could grant Apple’s injunction request without a hearing. However, Koh has scheduled a hearing for another injunction motion Apple has filed against the Samsung smart phone, the Galaxy Nexus.
Currently, Apple and Samsung are caught in lawsuits and countersuits regarding whether Samsung violated Apple’s trademarks and patents for its tablets and smart phones. The suits number around 50 and were filed in several countries.